“How many anitos and diwatas are there?” This is the question posed in The Soul Book.
Their number is legion, considering that every dead relative, perceived as having any kind of distinction, of every single individual in a community can become a deity. Roy F. Barton (1946) calculates at 1,500 the number of deities the Ifugaos alone invoke, and believes that there are many more beings created. In turn, each ethnic group has its own pantheon. In this article, we will look at some of the more prominent divinities in the Ifugao pantheon through three different lists.
The Ifugao (also known as Amganad, Ayangan, Kiangan, Gilipanes, Quiangan, Tuwali Ifugao, Mayoyao, Mayoyao, Mayaoyaw) are the people inhabiting Ifugao Province. The term “Ifugao” is derived from “ipugo” which means “earth people”, “mortals” or “humans”, as distinguished from spirits and deities. It also means “from the hill”, as pugo means hill.
The country of the Ifugao in the southeastern part of the Cordillera region is best known for its famous Banaue Rice Terraces, which in modern times have become one of the major tourist attractions of the Philippines. The Ifugaos build their typical houses called fales, which consists of a kitchen, bedroom and a worship room altogether. It is a triangular house elevated with 4 wooden posts. There is a ladder but it is hanged or removed so people or animals cannot enter the fale.
Aside from their rice terraces, the Ifugaos, who speak four distinct dialects, are known for their rich oral literary traditions of hudhud and the alim. The Ifugaos’ highest prestige feasts are the hagabi, for the elite; and the uyauy, a feast for those immediately below the wealthiest.
If you are familiar with Ifugao beliefs, I’d love to know more about which ones to include/exclude from the below lists.
Roy F. Barton’s 1946 Study
Roy F. Barton gives us the following divinities in his 1946 study “Mythology of the Ifugaos”:
The Ifugao, like all other groups in the Mountain Province, called their highest ranking deity, Kabunian. This deity dwelt in the fifth region of the universe. Incidentally, the Ifugao world consisted of a region above the skyworld where the important deities live. These deities however recognized Kabunian as the powerful deity among them.
The minor gods assisting Kabunian in the performance of his work were divided into groups.
Bulol—gods of household. They were held to be the souls of ancestors long departed, resembling the Roman Lares. They were represented by little statues, carved out of hard wood in the form of human beings.
Gatui—divinities of practical jokes. These corresponded to the harpies of the Greeks. Unless given sumptuous offerings, they were said to feast on the souls of the villagers, especially those of the unborn. To a great extent, miscarriages among the Ifugao mothers were attributed to these deities.
Tayaban—gods of death. Like the Gatui, these gods feasted on men’s souls. They revealed themselves to the world in the form of tiny, flying monsters covered with shiny scales, so that by night they look like fireflies.
Kikilan—two headed monsters serving as bodyguards the Tayaban and the Gatui.
Munduntug—evil spirits of the mountains. These divinities were called mountain ghosts because they haunted hunters in the forests, causing the latter to get lost in the jungle.
Makalun—messenger of the gods. They had wings. Their duty consisted in running errands for the superior deities of the skyworld and in summoning other divinities to attend the various ceremonies performed by the priest of the village.
Bakayauwan—good spirits of the mountains. Unlike the Munduntug, they were friendly and helpful to the hunters.
Mahipnat—great spirits of sacred places. They dwelt in the downstream regions and were sometimes referred to as spirits of deified heroes.
Bibao—spirits of ordinary places. They were found in cliffs, in houseroofs, in boulders, and in streams. They were almost everywhere. Stealing souls and causing sickness were among their mischievous acts. However, when bribed with a sumptuous feast, they became very kind and helpful, giving the celebrant prosperity, peace and happiness.
Halupi—spirits of remembrance. These spirits were responsible for reminding villagers what their priests wanted them to remember. They pestered debtors with remembrance of their debts, calmed those in a controversy to accede to the demands of their creditors, and (had a wide field of usefulness) in commercial transactions and love affairs.
Fill—guardians of property. These deities kept watch over the property and belongings of their favorites to prevent their being stolen or destroyed by thieves and trespassers.
Libligayu—spirits of sickness. Sometimes known as “liver-spearers,” the Libligayu were responsible for causing abdominal pains. In order to exorcise these spirits, the priests when
dancing swung their spears in front of the patients, at the same time singing: “Libligayu of the mountains, please, we entreat, remove your spear from the liver of this man, your friend. Remove it, Libligayu, and use it to spear the deer in the forests.”
The Libligayu were related to Hibalot, spirit of sickness which caused ulcers of the intestines, and dadungut, spirits of the tombs, which bit those who entered the graveyard of the dead ancestors without proper permission.
Makiubaya—spirits of the gates. These divinities kept watch over the gates built at the various approaches of the villages.
Binudbud—spirits of the feasts. They were invoked to check on men’s appetite during festivals. When so implored, they would descend to the village and tie up the stomach of the guests so that even if little food and drinks were served, the guests would be satisfied. These deities were also called upon to neutralize the passion of men so that there would be no trouble, no fight and no untoward feelings among the guests.
Imbagyan or Lingayan—messengers of death and guides of souls. One of the imbagyan was named himpugtan who had the power to terminate anything that displeased him or that displeased his favorites. He was the one to whom the people pray to spare them from death; whom they invoked to end famine, to cause death to an enemy, and to end almost anything they desired.
Banig—ghosts which permanently haunt the hillsides, caves and uninhabited houses. They were the cousins of Kolkolibag, spirits of birth, which caused, unless propitiated with proper sacrifices, difficult labor to delivering mothers by blocking the birth canal with their magic wand, and Inidu, omen spirits, who concocted omen and auguries from birds, snakes, insects, and trees.
Hidit—gods of rituals. They are the ones who saw to it that proper punishments for those who broke taboos were meted out. To this family of gods belonged Puok. gods of wind. The Puok were the ones responsible for wrecking the dwellings of the sinners and destroying the crops of those who refused to pay them homage.
Hipag—spirit of war. Ferocious and cannibalistic by nature, these deities were the ones invoked by the warriors before starting any expedition. The Hipag were believed to furnish the soldiers with courage and valor in the field of combat. Some images representing the Hipag were in human form, some in form of cocks or wild boars, while others were plainly fragments of human jaws and hard river stones.
Sonia M. Zaide’s 1994 List
Sonia M. Zaide apparently offers a different list of Ifugao deities in her book “The Philippines: A Unique Nation”
Mah-nongan – The chief god generally refer to as the honorary dead and creator of all things, even though Ifugaos do not consider any of their deities as supreme.
Ampual – Of the Fourth Skyworld, is the god who bestowed animals and plants on the people and who controls the transplanting of rice. He is one of those gods who expects gifts in return for his blessings.
Bumigi – In charge of worms, one of the eleven beings importuned to stamp out rice pests.
Liddum – Is regarded as the chief mediator between the people and the other gods.
Lumadab – Has the power to dry up the rice leaves, one of the eleven beings importuned to stamp out rice pests.
Mamiyo – Stretcher of skeins, one of the twenty-three different deities preside over the art of weaving.
Monlolot – The winder of thread on the spindle, one of the twenty-three different deities preside over the art of weaving.
Puwok – Controls the dread typhoons.
Wigan – Is the god of good harvest.
Yogyog and Alyog – Cause the earth to quake. They dwell in the underworld.
Kolyog – Is the god of earthquakes.
Henry Bimmolog, Lorenzo Sallong, & Lorelie Montemayor’s 2005 Study
Adding more context to the above lists, Henry Bimmolog, Lorenzo Sallong, & Lorelie Montemayor put together a document entitled “The Deities of the Animistic Religion of Mayaoyao, Ifugao”
“The non-Christian religion of Ifugao in general is polytheistic and the worship is centered on animal sacrifices.”(Angiwan) The Ifugaos are using two common names for their deity, which are Mah-nongan, and Kabunian, but these names meant differently to other Ifugaos. In some parts of Ifugao province, these names are understood as the names of one supreme god or deity, but to other parts, particularly the central Mayoyao town, they understood Mah-nongan and Kabunian as not names of one deity, but rather names of many deities.
The Ifugaos have different concepts or understanding of their deities. What we are going to look are the deities of central Mayoyao and how would it be compared with the God of the Bible. Presentations of the animistic religion of Central Mayoyao, Ifugao are primarily based on stock knowledge and interviews on very specific people. However, for the sake of comparison, confirmation, and further understanding of the deities of other Cordillerans, the researchers have consulted and quoted some works of other writers.
1. Understanding the Different Deities of Central Mayoyao.
There are at least two names common to all Ifugaos by which they call or address their god or deity – Afunijon (or Kabunian) and Mah-nongan. In some parts of Ifugao, Cabunian and Mah-nongan are names of the same one god or deity who is believed to be the creator of the universe and man. He is the highest or supreme being. Dumia states that “The people do not consider their deities as supreme but generally refer to Mah-nongan as the honorary head and creator of all things. He is their chief god.” (Dumia 1979:22). In fact when Evangelical Christianity first came, some groups of Christians call themselves Mah-nongan and also called their Ifugao hymn translation as Mah-nongan. They perceived the God of the Bible and Mah-nongan as the same in some aspects or characteristics. However, in other parts of Ifugao—like the town of Mayoyao in particular—perceived Mah-nongan and Afunijon as not the names of one deity or god, but rather a name referring to many deities.
Afunijon (Cabunian) basically means “heaven.” When the Ifugaos offer their worship to these deities, they look up towards heaven where some of the deities reside. So later, the place afunijon (heaven) became accepted as the name of these deities to whom they offer their sacrifices. Thus, Afunijon meant the place where some of the deities reside and at the same time the name of the deities. Lambrecht remarked that Afunijun is the place of the deities of the Ifugaos. Thus, Barton translated afunijun in Kalinga as those to whom sacrifices are offered. Both writers were right in their interpretation.
Mah-nongan comes from the word “‘eh-nong’, which means to offer.” (Damuyan, Russel). The Ifugaos offered their animal sacrifices to the deities, but they do not have the name on which they address their sacrifices. Later on, the word mah-nongan was developed into a name and was used to address these deities.
The Five Major Deities.
2) Aninitud angachar is the deity of the sky world. All the region of space visible from the earth is the territorial reign of this deity. He is the deity of lighting and thunder. The cause of lighting and thunder is believed to be a collision between man and the aninitud angachar (by not satisfying the dieties through sacrificial offerings).
3) Mapatar is the sun deity of the sky in charge of the daylight.
4) Bulan is the moon deity of the night in charge of the nightime.
5) Mi’lalabi are the star and constellation deities.The Minor/Lower Deities/Spirits.
2) Spirit of a Dead Person. When a person dies, the Ifugaos believe that the body would return to the dust where it came from, but the spirit or soul of the dead person will still continue to exist in two stages. They are:
B) Mun-apoh (ancestral spirits). These are the “spirits of those who have been long dead.” (Ibid., 285). The mun-apoh(ancestral spirit) is the guardian and the source of blessing provided by the living. They paid respect to the ancestral spirit. But the blessings could also be turned out into a curse.
Objects With Spiritual Power.
Fulor is a wood carved into an image of a dead person seated on a death chair. It is an antique that has spirit in it. Failure to offer sacrifice would result in sickness, death and unsuccessful crops (or harvest).
SOURCES:
The Philippines: A Unique Nation by Sonia M. Zaide, 1994, All-Nations Publishing
THE SOUL BOOK, Demetrio, Coredero-Fernando, Zialcita, GCF Books 1990
MYTHOLOGY OF THE IFUGAOS, Roy f. Barton, 1955, American Folklore Society
theocultura.blogspot.com/2005/04/deities-of-animistic-religion-of.html
ALSO READ: IFUGAO Origin Myth: The First Man & Woman
Jordan Clark is a Canadian born descendant of Scottish immigrants living on the homelands of the Lekwungen speaking peoples. His interest in Philippine myth and folklore began in 2004. Finding it difficult to track down resources on the topic, he founded The Aswang Project in 2006. Shortly after, he embarked on a 5 year journey, along with producing partner Cheryl Anne del Rosario, to make the 2011 feature length documentary THE ASWANG PHENOMENON – an exploration of the aswang myth and its effects on Philippine society. In 2015 he directed “The Creatures of Philippine Mythology” web-series, which features 3 folkloric beings from the Philippines – the TIKBALANG, KAPRE and BAKUNAWA. Episodes are available to watch on YouTube. Jordan recently oversaw the editing for the English language release of Ferdinand Blumentritt’s DICCIONARIO MITOLÓGICO DE FILIPINAS (Dictionary of Philippine Mythology) and is working on two more releases with fellow creators scheduled for release later this year. When his nose isn’t in a book, he spends time with his amazing Filipina wife of 20 years and their smart and wonderful teenaged daughter.
